Thermostatic valve.



J. Ji MGGUIRE.

THERMOSTATIG VALVE.

APPLICATION P ILED APR.20,1914.

Patented Dea 29, 1914.

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www f iii? Z l JAMES .nmdeumniortsn tours, MIssoUfai rnaamosrarrc VALVE.

specification of Letters raient. Patented De@ 29, 1914,

Application led April 20, 1914.v Serial No. 833,213.'

To'aZ-Z 'whom may concern.'

Y Be it known that I, JAMES J. MoGmRE, a

I citizen of the United States, residing at St. Loui Missouri,` haveinvented acertain new air rluseful Improvement in Ihermostatic Valves,of which'lthe' following 1s a ,full, clear, and exact description, suchas chamber.

will erfable others skilled inthe art to which it appertainsto make anduse the same.

This invention relates to thermostatic valves, and more particularly tothatptype which are commonly known as steam traps, and which arearranged on the radiators in steam-heating. systems for permitting theescape of air land water of 'condensation from the radiators when thesteam is turned into same, but which automatically close when the steamcomes in contact therewith.

4 It has heretofore been the general practice to make thevalve-.actuating means in a thermostatic valve of the type referred to,in the form of a flexible walled chamber of circular shape 'and to fill,or partially fill, it with a liquid having a low boiling point, such as,'for example, alcohol, the vapor pressure of which expands the walls ofthe chamber when the same'is subjected toheat, and thus actuates thevalve' that is carried by said The usual manner of constructing thechamber is to arrange a pair of curved. or cupped disks, one above theother,

' A so as to provide the hollow chamber between the ywalls thereof, andthen to fasten the meeting edges of said disks together by means 'ofcrimping, folding, riveting or soldering. By the use of the methodsmentioned in forming the chamber, the point'at which the disks aresecured together is composed of two or more'thicknesses of metal, or ismade heavy and rigid by the use of rivets or solder, consequently, thispoint resists the action of the expansive medium contained;I in thechamber; in other words,

if the chamber is composed of a pair of disks which are connectedtogether at their meeting edges by means of crimping, a seam or ring isformedabout theouter edge of said chamber that is composed of severalthicknesses of metal. Any pressure created inthe expansion chamber ofcourse tends to force the top and bottom walls thereof apart,

and in order to do this, the-,metal must either stretch, er the outsidediameter of said chamber-must decrease'. By securing the meeting edgesof the disks togetheri'n rigid ring is formed around the chamber whichresists the action of the expansivev fluid, and thus retards greatlylthe action of the valve.

In valves of the construction just above" described very high pressurehas to be created inside of the expansion chamber ybefore the 'valvewill operate, owing to theresistance ofered'by the diaphragm. This, ofcourse, is a very objectionable feature, as in the case of steam traps aconsiderable quantity of steam is allowed to escape before enoughpressure is created in the expansion chamber to close the valve. Anotherobjectionable feature of the valves now in general use is the fact thatthe constant stralin/ on the joint between the disks either opens up thejoint or breaks the disks after being rin use a short time. Attemptshave been made to overcome these defects in thermostatic valveconstruction by forming the disks with circular corrugations or fluted.portions, but theseV have not entirely overcome these defects, andfurthermore, have added another defect which is that of having the disksexpand unequally, or to expand on one side of the center first, whichresults .in a cocked valve which will not seat properly.

In order to overcome the objections above outlined, I have devised mypresent invention, the main object .of which is to provide a valve ofthe type referred to that is more flexible and more sensitive to changesin temperature, and consequently more rapid in its'action ofautomatically opening and closing, than the valves now in general use.

Another object is to provide a valve of the character described in whichthe flexible disk or diaphragm which carries' the valve proper issoconstruotedthat the liability of breakage due to constantflexing andbending is reduced to a minimum.

Still another object is toprovide a valve of the character describedthatl is provided with novel means for adjusting the position of thevalve proper with relation to its coperating seat, whereby said valvecan be readily changed to suit different requirements. y

Otherobjects and desirable features of my invention will be hereinafterpointed out. f i

Figure 1 of the drawings is a vertical secsiructed in accordance with myinvention. Fig. 2 is a similar view illustrating a different method ofsupporting'the expansion chamber in the valve casing. Fig. 3 is a viewsimilar to F ig. 1 illustrating a slightly dillerent method ofconstructing the expansion chamber; and, Fig. L1 isa vertical sectionalview showing my improved expansion chamber arranged in an inverted posiftion in the .valve casing, said chamber being of slightly different.construction from that shown in Fig. 1.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings, which illustrates one form ignatesthe valve casing which may be of any. suitable construction, and whichis provided in its sidewall with a perforated boss 1 that is adapted tobe connected to a steam radiator, or similar apparatus (not shown), soas to admit steam to the interior of said casing. The valve-carryingmember or ex.- pansion chamber B is supported inside of said valvecasing, a cup-shaped portion 2 provided with a flexible closure ordiaphragm 3 at its lower end, said fiexible closure carrying the valveproper 4, which is adapted to 'cooperate with -a valve seat 5 formed inthe outlet 6 in the bottom Wall of the casing A. The valve i 4; ispreferably adjustably connected to the diaphragm 3, and in theembodiment of my invention herein shown said diaphragm-is provided witha stem 7, which has a threaded portion 8 that cooperates with acorrespondingly threaded recess formed in the valve 4. rllhe cup-Shapedportion 2 of the expansion chamber B is provided at its lower end withan outwardly projecting annular flange 9, said iange being preferablyreduced in thickness toward and the diaphragm 3 is bent inwardly fromits point ofl greatest diameter so as to form expansion chamberB is anannular, 4horizontally disposed, U-shaped portion 10 that fits looselyover the flange 19, the inner edge of the inwardly bent portion beingeither brazed' or soldered to the cup shaped portion 2, as indicated at1l. The

filled with a suitable expanisve fluida, and when said chamber is fromthe steam which enters the valve casing through the openin l, the liquidwill expand or vaporize, an thus create pressure inside of the chamberB, which tends to force-the diaphragm 3 downwardly to seat thevalve, 4,the escape of thus preventing The curved of the point of connectionbetween said diaphragm and the ex ansionchamber, and being normallyspace sitive to changes in temperature in the ca sing A, and a veryslight pressure created 1n said chamber islsuliicient to force the -diaof my invention, A des-4 preferabl said chamber comprising its outeredge,

preferably partially exposed to the heat away from the flange 9, renderssaid diaphragm extremely scn- .I

mamans is screwed into the upper wall thereof and l whiehprojectsupwardly thereform and has a threaded engagement with a Aremovable cap aof the valve casing A. The bolt or rod 12 extends downwardly in thechamber to within'a short distance from the diaphragm 3 so as to preventsaid diaphragm from being forced upwardly into the chamber B by anyexcessive ypressure in the casing A. By the constructionv just describedthe expansion chamber I3 can be quickly removed from or inserted intothe casing A, by simply unscrewing the cap a, and said chamber can bereadily adjusted with respect to the cap a so that the desired relationbetween the valve 4 and its correspending seat 5 can be obtained.

Under certain conditions in service it is desirable to have av portionof the valvecarrying member or expansion chamber eX- posed-to theatmosphere so that said chamber will cool oft more quickly when thesteam ceases to iiow into the valve casing.

In Fig. A2 I have illustrated such a construction wherein the expansionchamber B is provided with an externally threaded it has been found thatthe simple method ol soldering or brazing the dia 'phragin 4 onto thecupped shaped portion 2 of the expansion chamber is sometimesinsufficient to maintain a 'tight joint at the point vof connection, andin order to`reinforce and strengthen the joint between the diaphragm andthe portion 2, I provide a clamping nut 13 that is screwed down over athreaded portion 14 formed onv the side wall of the portion 2, and thussecurely clamps the edge of the diaphragm 3 against the. flange 9,desired a coiled expansion spring 15 may be interposed between thediaphragm 3 and the bottom wall of the casing A, so as to assist inreturning the valve 4 to its open position. In Fig. 4 I have-illustrateda construction wherein the 'valve 4 is designed to operate in aninverted position A2, and the expansion chamber Sais pro vided at itsopen end with a plurality of arms or vribs 16 which prevent the daas'shown clearly in Fig. 3. If

in ,the casing lower end with an annular flange,

phragm from being forced into the chainber B2 because of any excessivepressure in the valve casing AF.,

While i have herein shown the valve a.- as being provided with a conicalportion that cooperates with the conical seat 5, i do not wish it to beunderstood that my invention is limited to such a construction as saivalve and its corresponding seat may be of any desired shape withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention.

From the foregoing it will be seen that have devised a thermostaticvalve that is very simple in construction, more efficient in operationthan the valves now in general use, and which is so constructed thatthere are no seams or thickened portions on the valve-actuating means toretard the action of the valve, or to be subjected to breaking strainsin service.

Having thus described my what I claim is:

1. A valve-actuating means for thermostatic valves, consisting of anexpansion chamber that is comprises rigid top and side walls, said sidewall being provided at its and a bottom wall that is connected to saidside Wall at a point above said fiange,saidbottom wall being providedwith a valve and a substantially U-shaped marginal portion thatsurrounds said flange and lies wholly without said'side wall and whichis free to bend independentl of said flange.

2. In a evice of the character described,

invention,

a casing having a steam inlet and an outlet passage, fliaidvoutlet beingprovided with a valve seat, avalve that cooperates with said seat, and avalve-actuating means comprising a cupshaped member provided at itslower end with a rigid annular flange and a flexible member that liesacross the lower portion of said cup-shaped member and which is attachedto said valve, said flexible member being provided with a portion thatis bent around and normallyfspaced away lfrom said flange.

3. In a device of the character described,

a cyiindrical, cupshaped ex' ansion chainber provided at its open enwith a rigid annular ange, and a cylindrical dia hragm that lies acrossthe open end of sai charnber, said diaphragm being provided with. amarginal U-shaped portion that surrounds said ange, the internaldiameter of said Ushaped portion being greater than the en ternaldiameter of said flange.

e. in a device of the character described, an expansion chamberAprovided with an annular flange, a diaphragm that closes the lowerportion of said chamber, said diaphragm having its marginal edge turnedinwardly and connected to the outer wall of said chamber, and meansorclamping said diaphragm against said Harige.

5. in a device of the character described, an expansion chamber providedwith an outwardly projecting annnlar'ange adjacent its lower end andhaving a screwthreaded portion on the outer wall thereof, a diaphragmextending across the lower wall of said chamber and having its marginaledge bent inwardly over said lange, and a nut that cooperates with saidscrewthreaded portion to clamp said diaphragm against said flange.

' 6. ln a device of the character described, an expansion chamberconsisting of a cylindrical member whose top and side walls are rigid,an outwardly extending ri `d annular flange arranged at the base o saidside wall, and a diaphragm whosecentral portion lies across the bottomof said cylindrical member below said flange, the marginal edge of saiddiaphragm being curved upwardly and inwardly and connected to said sidewall at a point above said ange, the curved portion of said diaphragmbeing spaced away from said iange. l

ln testimony whereof l hereunto ax my signature in the presence of twov1witnesses, this seventeenth day of April 19M. y JAMES J. MGGUI E.ifitnesses:

Gnoncn R. LADsoN, Groane BAKEWELL.

